The continuing trade row between China and Japan will be resolved, but probably only after China joins the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the country's chief trade negotiator, Mr Long Yongtu, said yesterday.
The trade row started in April when Japan placed import curbs on shiitake mushrooms, spring onions and rushes for tatami mats from China. Beijing retaliated by slapping punitive tariffs on Japanese-made cars, mobile phones and air conditioners.
Mr Long is confident the issue can be resolved because China will become a WTO member. "We can find a solution within the framework of the WTO," he said.
Mr Long said it was now almost certain that China would join the WTO in November, when members of the trade body hold a meeting in Qatar that could initiate a global trade round.
Two days of talks between Chinese and Japanese officials in July failed to end the dispute. Mr Long did not rule out the two countries holding more talks.
Political ties between China and Japan have also been strained over the visit by the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Junichiro Koizumi, to a Tokyo shrine for war dead last week.
Taiwan will enter the WTO immediately after China under a previous agreement. China considers Taiwan to be part of its sovereign territory.
Mr Long said yesterday that trade between the two should expand after they both join the WTO. Taiwan has banned direct mail, air and shipping links with mainland China since the Communists took power in 1949. But foreign trade officials say Taiwan could relax the ban in line with WTO commitments after its entry.
